This past November, I travelled to London, England to partake of Bentley Systems’ ‘Year in Infrastructure 2014’ Conference. It was an extremely enjoyable, mind-bending, time.
A few weeks ago, I attended the DistribuTECH Conference in San Diego. Every year the show is an eye-opener because every year the level of innovation and intellect on that floor gets greater for me. There’s a subtle shift from Big Data to the Internet of Things and everything points to a smarter, more resilient grid. Attention to climate change is growing as evidenced in the drive to harden and brace against larger and more severe weather events, use big data more effectively and restore power as quickly and efficiently as possible.
As mind-bending and fascinating as the show was from corner to show corner, I remained on a mission – to have someone explain to me why smart meters should be vital and what having one means to me and any other householder on this planet. My quest made me feel somewhat like Joe Miller (Denzel Washington) in the movie Philadelphia when he iterated, “Now, explain it to me like I’m a four-year-old.”
My Dad was in his early nineties when his house was selected as part of a group to have the first smart meters installed in Toronto. When he was canvassed by the hydro folks, he just seemed to glaze over, nod his head, and didn’t ask a single question. To add insult to injury, the two people at the door didn’t provide him with the hint of an explanation. To him, he didn’t have any issues and life would continue as normal provided his lights, TV, and stove worked. It never occurred to him that the spinning dial was rapidly becoming a thing of the past and the world of electricity distribution was changing forever. And then my sister called and asked me to explain how the smart meter works and I had to admit that I was at a loss. The only advice I could give was to not let their pool heat pump run for undue time because the utility was ‘watching’ and was capable of shutting it down.
The concept of ‘smart’ is creeping into every corner of our lives. Few are exempt no matter where or how they live. Are we better off for having smart phones, PCs, tablets, mp3 players, TVs, robotic devices, medical procedures, energy-rich smart buildings and vehicles? Probably. Even if we aren’t the stuff is here to stay and we are to evolve with it. Remember that ‘smart’ and ‘intelligent’ are relative terms.
So, let’s talk smart meters.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, a smart meter refers to a device that updates energy consumption at least once an hour. That information is sent to both the consumer and the utility at least once each day.
The technology is fairly new but smart meters per se are by no means unusual and the number of installed units continues to climb year over year. By enabling utility customers to estimate their annual bill smart meters can help users assess their individual energy habits, set goals for conservation, and easily monitor their progress.
When the new meters were first announced, the media had a field day downplaying their benefits. Statements like, “Smart meters are great and can tell you how much energy you can save – particularly if you do your baking or vacuuming at three in the morning,” surfaced regularly. It certainly didn’t help.
The key advantage, however, of the hourly breakdown is to enable utilities to fine-tune their peak rate charges, and to enable consumers to take more advantage of lower off-peak rates by shifting their energy usage to those hours whenever and as much as possible. Ideally, by interacting in this way, utility customers and utilities will both be focused on a common bottom-line goal, which is to avoid brownouts and blackouts, and forestall the need to build expensive additional power plants. What could be more satisfying than having more control over your lifestyle by managing energy use and making informed decisions about investing in energy conservation upgrades such as low-e windows, draught exclusion, and installing doors and insulation with higher R value ratings.
For many residential customers, peak demand changes can be eased without having to make any upfront investments in energy efficiency. One obvious example is to run non-essential appliances like dishwashers and laundry dryers during off-peak times. Today, many appliances can also be programmed to work on either side of peak hours and this advantage is becoming more popular. In addition, the potential for wireless communication between smart meters, appliances, and consumers enables the user to make the most of mobile energy management apps to tweak their hardware when away from their premises. Depending on the potential for mobile interaction, smart meters could also enable customers to help forestall brownouts more effectively by turning appliances down or off even when the user is not at home. That’s on top of taking common-sense energy conservation steps like turning off lights when not in use, replacing older light bulbs with energy-saving ‘curly’ compact florescent bulbs or LEDs, and replacing broken or worn-out appliances with much more efficient models.
These connections between users and utilities will only grow as technology continues to ramp up and energy providers see, evolve, and/or establish new trends.
For some businesses, the need for lighting, equipment, and customer comfort are all considerations that can weigh heavily against basic conservation strategies during peak times. This is where things start to get really interesting. To get to the next level, businesses have to start thinking about investing in energy conservation. That means new equipment as well as building improvements such as weatherization, water conserving fixtures, and more efficient HVAC systems.
Up until now, businesses could calculate the return on their investment simply by projecting utility rates into the future. That could provide a sufficient incentive for upgrades in some cases, but not necessarily in others. The emergence of alternative energy and electric vehicles has provided businesses with a much stronger bottom-line incentive, and that’s where the interplay between smart meters and a smart national grid comes in.
In many areas, the grid is transitioning from a reliance on massive, centralized power plants to a distributed model in which small, medium, and large renewable energy resources play an increasingly dominant role. Given that much of the renewable input is currently from intermittent sources – wind and solar – energy storage is a critical component. The end result is that utility companies must be much lighter on their feet, with the added complication that many of the utility’s customers are now, or have the potential to be, its energy suppliers as well as being its storage reservoirs. Managing such a complex, information and data centric system through conventional meters, with their lack of interactivity and monthly readings, would simply be impossible
In terms of the utility customer as an energy supplier, that trend is already firmly established by the rapidly growing number of grid-connected solar installations on rooftops and other relatively small sites. The latest thing is the use of electric vehicles (EVs) as mini-distributed energy storage hubs. The basic idea is that utility customers can charge up their EVs during off-peak times, and then use the stored energy in the EV batteries to power elements in their homes and business. That relieves pressure on the central grid while enabling EV owners to cut peak out-of-pocket hour rates. Some enterprising EV owners are offering to use their fully charged batteries to top-up EV owners who have depleted batteries.
It’s worth noting that EV manufacturers are aggressively pushing the EV phenomena by packaging an EV purchase with a free or discounted charging station. Some packages also include rooftop solar panel setups to help offset charging costs.
Then there are the secondary benefits of the smart meter/smart grid for business apps. The cost of energy has long impacted the bottom line. In recent years, two overlapping factors have come together to make energy use a top-of-mind concern.
- The urgency of addressing climate change, which in so many ways depends on using energy more efficiently while transitioning to more sustainable resources.
- Consumers are becoming aware of the public health benefits of conservation and clean energy and that themselves are increasingly attracted to businesses that share their concerns.
This gives an edge to businesses that install renewable energy hardware on site. They can only benefit from increased traffic to their door.
I’m pretty sure I’m now on the road to understanding the complexities of smart. I think I like it.
